[Fish Sandwich]

Ninnin Rewatch! 13 + 14

Episode 13 has a lot more development for Starninger but what makes it cool is that secretly, it's all about Kininger. Nagi wasn't the most interesting character at the start of the show (the most exciting part of his first focus episode was a truck), but this is where he starts to become genuinely cool, with the show letting him be the "heart" of the team, in this case getting Kinji to accept that he likes everybody else while also trying to kill them. Or so he says? Yoshitaka only said to defeat them and nobody treats it very seriously. I'd say it's just Kinji being overly dramatic, which makes enough sense for his personality (cowboys are all about sweet one-liners), but in his second episode he was totally about to stab Takaharu in his sleep so I really have no clue. Maybe he just knows that isn't going to work? Usually his "assassination attempts" only amount to light swordplay too so I guess that instance is just an outlier. ANYWAY, there's also some more of that great world-building (which isn't usually something I care about but Ninninger impresses me) with some other ninja who show up. The show never explicitly gives an info-dump but it paints a pretty clear picture that all the fantastical stuff you see is considered completely ordinary and even a bit mundane, which I find interesting.

Episode 14 has some more waffling on about family, this time focusing on Takaharu and Fuuka's relationship. This is another really good one, though I can imagine some people being frustrated with how easily Takaharu falls for the MotW's plan (which, to an extent, is the point). I love how it emphasizes what makes Fuuka cool (she's klutzy but surprisingly clever), Kinji plays a nice role in it (both this and 13 make it a point he hasn't had a family most of his life, giving him a nice contrasting perspective), and the very last scene with Fuuka indirectly stating she's proud to be Takaharu's sister is really touching in my opinion.

[MarsHottentot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

I hated Ryukendo. I think I made it through 2 episodes before I gave up on it. The cops were just over the top dumb.

Well, yeah, they're supposed to be completely useless - they depend on SHOT / Ryukendo and Ryuguno for everything. It's a comedic satire, Dr. Edge, not serious business.

Wait - you a cop?

[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Kasumi is actually my least favorite member of the team.

That's the craziest thing you've said so far!

Kasumi is a completely new character type for Sentai. She's the brilliant scientist and strategist of the group, but she's not timid, dour, self-serious, or a buzzkill like most smarty characters -- instead, she's playful, mischievous, girly, and effervescent. There simply hasn't been another female character like her in all of Sentai -- and with 40 iterations of this show out in the world, coming up with a new character type seems like it would be nigh impossible.

TL;DR I think she's the greatest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Though Kinji is still the real Star in my book.

Ha, "star."

I guess I like Kinji as a character? The thing is, I detest the actor who plays him, so I never really warmed up to his out-of-suit shenanigans.

That said, I love his glitter-poncho'ed Super Starninger form to an unreasonable degree.

[Matrixbeast]

What about the first KyoryuViolet, a mad genius that is always doing what he can to help in a very outgoing manner, despite his old age?

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Lucha

That's the craziest thing you've said so far!

Clearly you haven't seen me talk about Kamen Rider Ghost enough.

Quote:

TL;DR I think she's the greatest.

Just to be clear, I like Kasumi quite a bit too. She's just the least favorite in a group I'm coming to realize is one of my favorites. Nagi was actually at the bottom until he started getting awesome toward the middle.

Quote:

I guess I like Kinji as a character? The thing is, I detest the actor who plays him, so I never really warmed up to his out-of-suit shenanigans.

What about him do you detest?

[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

What about the first KyoryuViolet, a mad genius that is always doing what he can to help in a very outgoing manner, despite his old age?

The "impish old guy" archetype is pretty familiar in Sentai. Put it in the body of a young woman, and things become more interesting.

Also, as I recall, OG KyoryuViolet wasn't quite as ruthless or (good-naturedly) manipulative as Kasumi was. That's another part of what makes her so interesting, IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

What about him do you detest?

I think he's overly goofy, but that's not all of it. There's just something about him that I just never liked. Like, a lack of gravitas, I guess.

[Fish Sandwich]

Ninnin Rewatch! 15 + 16

In episode 15, the MotW goes after Rodeomaru. Which means the mecha action starts 6 minutes in and doesn't stop until the end. Which means this episode is sweet. Not to say it's all flash. Kasumi gets to save the day by being really smart, Nagi and Fuuka do a lot of the legwork with Shurikenjin, Kinji gets his chance to shine at the end, and Yakumo is... there. This is also one of those times where the show practically revels in pulling the rug out from under Takaharu, which only makes him more endearing. Again, he's not the center of attention.

Episode 16 is really good. Like, wow. First of all, it's about Tsumuji (and by extension Takaharu and Fuuka), which pretty much guarantees its awesomeness. Second of all, Takaharu makes up for last episode by accidentally coming up with a (completely successful!) plan to trick the MotW. Third, Kinji gets a minor but important role listening in on the three of them talking about family stuff, furthering his development a little. I mentioned this a bit last time but I feel Kinji adds a lot to the group dynamic without taking anything away. The episodes since he showed up have been way more enjoyable than the already enjoyable first stretch of the show. It feels like this is where Ninninger really found its groove.

[Fish Sandwich]

Ninnin Rewatch! 17 + 18

Episode 17 begins the turning point for Starninger's relationship with the rest of the team that takes a couple episodes to fully play out. The Ninningers (and by extension the audience) finally get filled in on his tragic backstory, and in light of him nearing the deadline on Yoshitaka's offer, make it clear they're happy to have him around and that's there's no bad blood between them regardless of who becomes the Last Ninja, since they're already competing against one another anyway. The episode ends with Kinji missing the deadline and leaving for Hawaii. Hang on a second...

Episode 18 actually makes it a point to use the original narration in the opening, which is a nice touch, though Kinji's still in the role-call. The plot is pretty much straight out of the first quarter of the show, too, with a simple MotW story that builds on Yakumo's character by showing his more embarrassingly childish side. It's pretty solid all-around, assuming you dig Ninninger's style of humor. Kinji ends up getting dragged back into the fight and when he's about to leave at the end, the rest of the team tell him not to give up and offer to help convince Yoshitaka to take him on. Combined with the last episode it's nice to see how much everyone cares about Kinji at this point. And why shouldn't they? He's totally awesome.

[Matrixbeast]

Gingaman!
Episodes 23 and 24
It seems the search for the Galactic Lights is over, as Budo's general captures it. However, the villains do that thing where they fuck each other over. Irises's monster tricks Budo's general into using the Lights for himself, and in turn, makes Budo seem like a traitor. The lights are extracted from the monster, and choose to aid the Gingamen rather than Bull Black.

With that, the search for the lights is over and Budo is imprisoned...For all of 10 minutes, before 2 of his loyal followers rescue him. On a bid to prove his innocence, he makes a final effort to gain the lights, but once again, Irises's monster screws him over, not delivering his message to Zahab. Fed up, Budo axes her off, and realizing he's forever branded a traitor to Barban, has a duel with GingaRed (Who spent half the episode in a violent rage). Budo dies, his 2 final servants die, and Irises is now the new field commander.

Oh, and GingaiOh gets the galactic light power up. But with no build up, eh.
Bull Black also seems to be dying. Wonder what's going on with that...Aside from the part where he was basically dead for 3000 years prior.

[Fish Sandwich]

Ninnin Rewatch! 19 + 20

This one is pretty distinctly a two-parter so I'm just gonna talk about it as one thing. Also the whole "keep it short" philosophy didn't exactly work out here (more so than usual I mean), but there was a lot to talk about with these ones.

These episodes are great. When I call Ninninger character-driven it's because of stuff like this. There may not be much mystery or intrigue to the plot, but the development of the cast is paced out really well in my opinion. The villains are always getting more threatening and that means the Ninningers are always growing to face the challenge, in a way that goes far beyond the show simply handing them new toys every couple of months.

In this case, the Ninningers meet a mysterious guy who kicks the crap out of them in a fight in about a minute, instantly noticing and exploiting each of their individual flaws. It's really character-building to see the team get completely embarrassed like that.

Takaharu is actually at the center of this one in terms of growth, being forced to actually stop and think for a second, observing the other Ninningers fighting without him. He notices all the same flaws, and has a personal revelation about how the reason they're such a good team is because they bring out the best in one another. These episodes really mark the turning point for Takaharu, getting him into the groove of being surprisingly clever and observant for how dumb he is, and also making it a point that his bottomless energy and morale are a good influence on the rest of the team.

Yoshitaka also takes a big step in his own arc, finally accepting Starninger as a student after the Ninningers gain Lion Ha-Oh's help in a way he never would've thought of, the first big instance of the students surpassing the master, which will be a very important recurring theme from here on out. Yoshitaka was a character who sort of rubbed me the wrong way at first but what didn't become clear to me until toward the end is that his arrogance is a very deliberate character flaw he gradually gets over. You can see he has trouble admitting he's wrong about anything by the way he phrases his dialogue at the end, but the fact that he admits it at all is a big sign he's starting to loosen up a bit.